Alzheimer's Association St. Louis chapter helpline, and the other west county dementia lifelines

This is the page to bookmark on the good days, so that on the bad ones you are not searching "Alzheimer's Association St. Louis chapter helpline" with one hand while the other holds the door. Every number below is printed exactly as the organization prints it, with a link to the page it came from and, on the sources page, the date we checked. None of these organizations is connected to this site, and none of them runs the in-home care described at the bottom.

The numbers, and what each one is for

• 800-272-3900, the Alzheimer's Association 24/7 HelplineThe Association describes it as a free service available around the clock, 365 days a year, with bilingual staff or interpreter service that accommodates more than 200 languages. It is the number for the night she was found down the street, for the morning you cannot face the doctor's appointment, and for the plain question of what a support group near you looks like. Call it once before you need it, so the second call is easier.
• The Alzheimer's Association Missouri ChapterThe chapter that covers west county. Its page says it serves 86 counties in Missouri and 10 in Illinois, and lists support groups, education and resources. You reach it through the same 800 number. The web address still reads greatermissouri; the page itself now says Missouri Chapter.
• Support groups in St. Louis CountyThe Association describes its groups as peer- or professionally led groups for caregivers, individuals living with Alzheimer's and others dealing with the disease, all facilitated by trained individuals, available both virtually and in person, with specialized groups for adult caregivers among others. The search tool is on that page; the Helpline will do the search with you if you would rather talk.
• Aging Ahead, for St. Louis County addressesAging Ahead is one of 10 Area Agencies on Aging in Missouri and has provided supportive services in St. Louis, St. Charles, Franklin and Jefferson counties since 1973 for adults 60 and older, including Meals on Wheels, senior centers, caregiving services and community options consulting. If your mother lives in Ballwin, Chesterfield, Eureka, Glencoe, Grover, Pacific or Valley Park, this is her agency.
• (314) 612-5918, the St. Louis Area Agency on AgingFor a mother inside the city limits. The city's page says the agency serves older adults, and persons with disabilities (18-59 yrs), who reside within the boundaries of the City of St. Louis.
• The Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center at Washington UniversityThe Knight ADRC is at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and, per its media guide, was established in 1985 with funding from the National Institute on Aging. Its public pages list support and education, events, and volunteer research studies. It is a research center, not a walk-in clinic; use it for the education calendar and, if you are curious, for research participation.
• 800-432-5378, MedicAlert + Alzheimer's Association Safe and FoundThe safe return program the NIA names on its wandering page, with the suggestion to consider enrolling the person in a safe return program. This is the number for a bracelet and a plan, not for the night she is missing. That night is 911.
• 800-677-1116, the Eldercare LocatorThe NIA's next-steps page says to find local services by visiting the Eldercare Locator online or calling 800-677-1116. A federal directory that routes you to the right agency for any ZIP code, useful when a sibling out of state wants to help and does not know where to start.
• 911, and Missouri's Endangered Silver AdvisoryIf she is gone and fifteen minutes of searching has not found her, the number is 911 and the word is dementia. The Missouri State Highway Patrol's advisory is requested by local police after your missing person report, for a person 60 years of age or older and believed to be suffering from dementia or other cognitive impairment. The whole sequence is on the first fifteen minutes page.
• 1-800-392-0210, Missouri's Adult Abuse and Neglect HotlineNot for wandering. For the different night when you are worried that an older adult is being harmed or neglected by someone. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services lists the hotline's hours as 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with online reporting as well.

Which number do I call first?

If she is missing: 911. If she is home and you are falling apart: 800-272-3900, any hour. If you need meals, rides, a senior center or caregiver services for a county address: Aging Ahead. For a city address: (314) 612-5918. For a bracelet and a plan before the next time: 800-432-5378. For the doctor's questions: her doctor. That order will get you through most weeks.

Is there a dementia caregiver support group in St. Louis County?

Yes, and more than one. The Alzheimer's Association's page describes groups available both virtually and in person with specialized groups for adult caregivers, and its search runs by location. The Knight ADRC lists support and education on its public pages. Aging Ahead's caregiving services are the county's own door. If you go to one meeting and it is wrong for you, go to a different one; the groups differ more than their names suggest.

Dementia in-home care in west county, and what that phrase means

When people search "memory care at home Chesterfield MO" or "dementia in home care St. Louis," they usually mean a person who comes to the house: for the late-day window, for overnight, or for a few hours so a daughter can go to her own appointment. In Missouri that is the category the Department of Health and Senior Services calls private duty or private pay, for which no physician order is needed and for which the state issues no license. It is non-medical: company, a routine, meals, help with bathing and dressing, someone awake at the door. It is not nursing and it is not treatment, and a company that offers it is not a substitute for any organization above. It is the piece those organizations do not provide, which is a person in the house at four in the afternoon and at two in the morning.